Fanning carves up the ASP World Title

If you had your money on Australian surfer Mick Fanning to win the 2007 ASP World Title - congrats to both you and him. The editor of Australia’s surfing bible, Tracks, was even prepared to stake his own home on it. “If I had to put my house on the next Aussie who’ll win the World Title, it would be Mick Fanning, no question about it,” Sean Doherty said. Prophetic words as Mick did take home the ultimate prize this year.

Aussie grommet makes surfing history

UPDATE: Read Mick's Interview and news story about his 2007 ASP Tour Championship!

Mick Fanning’s been heralded as a future world champ ever since he was a white-haired grommet ripping up Gold Coast pointbreaks in his early teens. But it was Fanning’s first ever WCT contest that made the surfing world, nay, the world, sit up and take notice. Extended a wild-card in the Rip Curl Bells Beach Classic in 2001 Fanning, then just 19, surfed against the world’s best 44 surfers for the very first time. He created surfing history when he became the first wildcard to ever win an ASP event, destroying veteran Danny Wills in the final. “I just went out there and didn’t care,” Fanning says. That same year he finished World Qualifying Series (WQS) champion earning him a spot on the top surfing tour in 2002 where he earned the title of Rookie Of The Year. By 2003 he was in the top four surfers in the world, but it was a freak accident in 2004 that made Fanning the surfer he is today.

The ultimate wipe-out

Surfing on a remote Indonesian reef break Fanning attempted to float over the whitewash of a wave. A manoeuvre that had always come so easily to him, nearly ended his career. “I tore the hamstring clean off the bone where it attaches to the pelvic bone.” Fanning couldn’t walk, let alone surf, and had to spend six months in rehabilitation. “It was five days a week of squats, walking in the pool, cycling and swimming in extreme pain,” he says. “I didn't surf for six months, I couldn’t even sit in a chair.” There were serious down times where Fanning doubted he’d ever be able to compete again. “I was pretty immature before that mentally and it really made me stronger,” he says. A few short months later Fanning returned to the competitive scene again, winning the illustrious Quiksilver Pro at his homebreak of Snapper Rocks on Queensland’s Gold Coast before 10 000 delirious local fans. Now looking for his best year ever in 2007 Fanning will be Australia’s front-runner for the World Title.

A perfect match

Now regarded with Slater as one of the world’s pin-up boys, Fanning has attracted a multitude of sponsors, but Red Bull he says, seem to perfectly match the way he lives his life. “I use Red Bull for pep-ups,” he says. “I’ve sure needed that along the way, the team have always supported me well. And when I win and I really like to celebrate, I have a couple between beers to keep me going all night.”